"The Late Sherlock Holmes" by J. M. Barrie

ST. JAMES’S GAZETTE.

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•nly felt when you want to raise a subsequent loan. Then you find
that the capitalists are not at home when you call upon them.

Another large theatre has had its Anarchist scare. 1 his time it
was the Ranis Upera House; under the circumstances, just where
wc should expect it. But it was neither a bomb nor a shabby-
genteel occupant of the stalls that caused the alarm this time.

A rumour got about that the chain holding the enormous chandelier
jr.un the centre of the ceiling had been halt cut through. 1 he sword
of Damocles coul l inspire no such terror as this ; the sword might
wound Damocles, but the huge chandelier, hanging from its thread,
would crush some tens of persons in the parterre. AVe hope that the
scare will not spread to London theatres with their similar heavy
overhanging chandeliers; but there can be no doubt that these
unnecessary ornaments do look uncommonly dangerous. _ Surely in j
these electric lamp days these masses ol glass “lustres might be
dispensed with.

Professor btuart and tiic gentlemen from metropolitan vestries
who waited upon Mr. Gladstone yesterday must be easily pleased it
they are satisfied with what they got from the aged Premier. 11c
assured them ol ins sympathy and esteem ; he believed that there
was no denying the existence of' a great deal of distress; he
thought the subject of the utilization of town refuse was
exceedingly interss»ia^: and he hoped t lie attitude of the Govern-
ment was weil knowS* fear the deputation scarcely departed
" much strengthened/’ but we and they ought not to blame the
eloquent and pol.te old gentleman for this. 1 hey had nothing to
suggest beyond the subsidizing of “light railways ’ and other
unprofitable schemes, and even the Grand Old Promisor did not see
his way to help them with lair words there.

The London County Council, it is true, might do sohiething
if it would get on with its very necessary work while it is
wrangl.ng over Betterment, instead of refusing to employ Labour
until it has settled with the Lords. But v.e do not pretend to
tlnnk that the unemployed "problem” would be much helped to
a final settlement by this. As the new report of the Mansion
1 louse Committee shows, the various pretty plans tried by one public
body and another last year have ail proved failures. Relief works —
j.c., unprofitable undertakings merely set a-going for the purpose of
paying wages — increase the normal evil rather than alleviate it, say
the committee. Since they iiave previously tried their hand with
rather less striking failure than has attended most ol such opera-
tions at dealing with the unemployed, it is suggestive that they
have no panacea to recommend tins winter.

Is "snapdragon ” really a dangerous game ? Anti is it (as the Daily
Telegraph fiercely argues this morning) a sport only lit lor a society
"rough frequently to coarseness and sometimes to brutality:” a pastime
indeed to be ranked with "throwing cocks,” baiting the bull and
the badger, and whipping the blind bear ? Our contemporary makes
too much out of the sad accident at Guildford, where the death of
one boy and the burning ol others was caused, not by the “snap-
dragon, ’but apparently by the stupidity of sonic one who went to pour
a whole large buttle of methylated spirit on the flame. "Snapdragon’’
is a playful and comparatively innocent sport ; and whole bottles of
methylated spirit have no business in connection with it. One might
as well say abolish fires because some idiot wanted to see what a
nice blaze a bottle of brandy would make when poured on one.

American ladies secin to be extraordinarily touchy. The other
night there was that distinguished and tactful Mr. W. T. Stead
addressing the Women’s Club in Chicago, and just because lie
spoke with the simple candour which always distinguishes his
oratory, they rose indignantly and, protesting, left the hall. This is
really too silly on the part ol " a highly respectable society oi the
fair sex. ’ He had merely told them that he "saw before him the
most disreputable women of the city, who had been favoured by
Providence with all her s/<r| bounteous gills, and who yet lived
entirely for themselves." And they actually were displeased with
this, and thought him lacking in taste, for saying that "such women
were worse than the most abandoned women in the streets.” Now
at a St. James’s Hall meeting “ for Women Only ’ that would have
been thought rather a graceful and del.catc way ol putting it. A
nervous and thin-skinned generation these Americans, surely !
Mr. Stead must he pining to get back to his dear gentlemanly
English ladies and ladylike gentlemen again !

Who discovered America? It is a question which is always being
answered afresh. The latest attempt to deprive Columbus of his
honours is that of Captain Gainbier, who in a learned article in the
January Fortnightly gives the credit to a Dieppe sea-captain
named Cousin. He maintains, and goes far to establish his
contention, that this Trench skipper reached the mouth of
•lie Amazon in 14SS, four years before the flotilla of Columbus
louched at San Salvador. Captain Qambier goes further. He
holds that the Genoese explorer simply appropriated the results
ol his predecessor’s enterprise by the aid of Vincent Pinion, who
commanded one of the vessels in his fleet and had previously
crossed the Atlantic with Cousin, (,’ne thing is certain : America
was discovered by a "fluke.” Neither Cousin nor Columbus had
the least idea that they had not reached the true " Indies ’’—that is
the Comment ol Asia.

^December 29, 1895.

THE LATE SHERLOCK HOLMES.

SENSATIONAL ARREST.

WATSON ACCUSED OF THE CRIME.

(Uy Our Oioii Extra- Special Reporters.)

12.30 r.M. — Early this morning Mr. W. W. Watson, M.D. (Edin.), was
arrested at his residence, 12*, Tenuison-road, St. Johns-wood, on a charge
of being implicated in the death of Mr. Siici lock Holmes, late of Baker-
street. The arrest was quieily effected. Hie prisoner, we understand,
was found by the police at breakfast with Ins wife. Being informed of
the cause of their visit lie expressed no surprise, and only asked to sec
the warrant. This Having been shown him, he quietly put himself at the
disposal of the police. 1 lie latter, it appears, had instructions to tell him
that before accompanying them to Bow- street he was r.t liberty to make
arrangements for the carrying on dutiug his absence of his medical prac-
tice. Prisoner smiled at this, and said that 110 such arrangements were
necessary, as his patient had left the country. Being warned that what-
ever lie said would be used as evidence against him,' he declined to
make any further statement. lie was then expeditiously removed to
Bow-street. Prisoner’s wife witnessed his removal with much fortitude.

The Sherlock Holmes Mystery.

The disappearance of Mr. Holmes was an event of such recent
occurrence and gave rise to so much tall: that a very brief re time of the
affair is all that is needed here. Mr. llolntes was a man of middle age
and resided in Baker-street, where he cariied on the business of a private
detective. He was extremely successful in his vocation, and some of bis
more notable triumphs must still be fresh in the minds of the public —
particularly that known as "The Adventure of the Three Crowned
Heads,” and the still more curious "Adventure of the Man without a
Wooden Leg,” which had puzzled all the scientific bodies of Europe.
Dr. Watson, as will he proved out ol his own mouth, was a great friend of
Mr. Holmes (itself a suspicious circumstance) and was in the habit of
accompanying bint in his professional peregrinations. It will he alleged
by the prosecution, wc understand, that lie did so to serve certain
cuds cfliis own, which were of a monetary character. About a fortnight
ago news reached London of the sudden death of the unfortunate Holmes,
in circumstances that strongly pointed to fcul play. Mr. Holmes and a
friend had gone for a short trip to Switzerland, and it was telegraphed
that Holmes had been lost in the tenible Falls of Rcichcnbach. lie had
fallen over or been precipitated. The Falls are nearly a thousand feet
high ; but Mr. Holmes in the course of his career had survived so many
dangers, and the public had such faith in his turning-up as alert as ever
next month, that no one believed him dead. The general confidence was
strengthened when it became known that his companion in this expedi-
tion was his frond Watson.

Watson’s Statement.

Unfortunately for himself (though possibly under the compulsion of
the police of Switzerland), Watson lclt called upon to make a statement.
It amounted in brief to this: that the real cause of the Swiss tour was a
criminal of the name of Moriariy, from whom Iloh.ies was (lying. The
deceased gentleman, according to Watson, had ruined the criminal busi-
ness of Moriarty, who had sworn revenge. This shattered the nerves of
Holmes, who fled to the Continent, taking Watson with him. Ail went
well until the two travellers reached the Falls of Reichenbacli. Hither
they were followed by a Swiss boy with a letter to Watson. It purported
to conic from the innkeeper of Mtiringen, a neighbouring village, and
implored the Doctor to hasten to the inn and give his professional attend-
ance to a lady who had lallon ill there. Leaving Holmes at the Fall,
Watson hurried to the inn, only to discover that the landlord had scut him
no such letter. Remembering Moriarty, Watson ran back to the Falls,
but arrived too late. All lie found there was signs of a desperate struggle
and a slip of writing from Holmes explaining that lie and Moriarty had
murdered each other and then flung themselves over the Falls.

Popular Talk.

The arrest of Watson this morning will surprise no one. It was the
general opinion that some such step must follow in the interests of public
justice. Special indignation was expressed at Watson’s statement that
Holmes was running away from Moriarty. It is notorious that Holmes
was a man of immense courage, who revelled in facing danger. To repre-
sent him as anything else is acknowledged on all hands to be equivalent to
saying that the People’s Detective (as he was called) had

Imposed upon the Public.

Wc understand that primed matter by Watson himself will be pro-
•duccd at the trial in proof of the public contention. It may also be
observed that Watson’s stop/ carries doubt 0:1 the face of it. The deadly
struggle took place on a narrow path along which it is absolutely certain
that the deceased must have seen Moriarty coming. Yet the two men
only wrestled on the cliff. What the Crown will ask is,

-vnr.svt I lb I OLS T

Watson, again, is the authority for stating that the deceased never
ciossed In-5 threshold without several loaded pistols in his pockets, if
this were so In London, L it not quite incredible that Holmes should have
been unarmed m the comparatively wild Swiss mountains, where, more-
over he is represented as living in deadly fear of Moriarty s arrival?
And front Watson s sketch ol the ground, nothing can be clearer than that
Ilo mes had ample tune to shoot Moriarty after the latter hove in sight.
But even allowing that Holmes was unarmed, why did not Moriarty shoot
him ? Had lie no pistols either ? This is the acme of absurdity.

What Watson Saw.

Watson says that as he was leaving the neighbourhood of the Falls he
saw in the distance the figure of a tall man. He suggests that this was
oriarty, who (lie holds) also sent the bogus letter. In support of this
ihcoiy it must l.c allowed tfiui Peter Steilcr, the innkeeper, admits that